I have been a fan of Prince for over 32 years, seen him in concert 30 times and have every single thing he has released. My biggest and probably only regret is not following through with a trip to Minnesota to see him live or attend one of this parties.

When the date for the tribute was announced, my cousin and I booked 3 1/2 day trip without anything else being announced or known. We figured, this was our time to experience Minnesota, FINALLY.

We were so lucky that Paisley Park tours were announced, concert was confirmed, then the MUSE parties were announced, all on those days we already had our trip booked.

I won't guide you through everything but we did all the usual Minnesota stops. What I loved so much about this trip was talking to locals about how much he meant to their community and how often they saw him hanging out as just a "normal person". We had some really cool conversations with people. My fave was the barista at Caribou Coffee who gave us stories about him riding his bike and coming in to hang out and order tea...etc....She teared up and said "I really miss him".

Highlight of the trip by far was Paisley Park: I feel honored to have taken the VIP photo at the piano and it disgusts me that a few fools have ruined that experience for all. The atrium area and rooms was very emotional and that whole place had a vibe like Prince was in the next room. The tour was amazing. We had a small group of 12 and our tour guide had an amazing personality, Minda. Many of us knew more history than she did, but thats ok!!! She was great with us and I really appreciated her. The tour was 2 hours and never felt rushed. Even though I didn't want to leave, I felt we spent a good amount of time there.

Night 1: we attended MUSE with a general ticket which was awesome seeing so many cool performers and purple people in attendance. In bed by 3am and I woke up at 6am...NO SLEEP! lol

Night 2: we attended the Tribute concert, amazing...long but amazing, then headed to First Avenue to see the Bilal and The Time...pressed right up against the stage, it was truly an experience! In bed by 3am, woke up at 6am again....lol

Night 3: We had VIP to the Muse, we literally huge out upstairs and mingled with band members and proteges for hours and took photos. It was so cool. We met Omar Baker and wife, Andre Cymone, Mayte, Shelby, Judith Hill, Bobby Z, Susannah Melvoin, etc.....Stayed out till 2am, had to wake up at 3:45am for the airport.

It literally took me 4-5 days to catch up on sleep from this one but IT WAS WORTH IT! I didn't see everything I wanted to (ran out of time) but that's ok.....cause I will be back. Minnesota is an amazing place!!!

Your trip sounds awesome...!

I'm hoping to visit sometime next spring....

Thank you for your story...!